Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Up 0.7%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price shot up 0.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $277.80 and last traded at $277.61. 856,508 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 6,545,737 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.73.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.79. The firm has a market cap of $263.81 billion, a PE ratio of 49.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,015 shares of company stock worth $16,174,717 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.2% in the second quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 20,768 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,302,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 23.4% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 12,464 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 5.5% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Salesforce by 130.7% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 187,072 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 105,972 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.